A WINTER ROSE

Ken Noda and Hyesang Park

It was a cold and nasty late winter day outside, but inside the vast St. Michael's Church on the Upper West Side, Spring was in the air and in the ear. Ushering in the delights of the upcoming Spring was star soprano Hyesang Park with the incredibly sensitive accompaniment of Ken Noda. The occasion was a Neighborhood Concert produced by the Weill Music Institute of Carnegie Hall in partnership with St. Michael's church. The concert is part of the Marilyn Horne Legacy at Carnegie Hall, and the divine Ms. Horne was in the audience for this very special event.

We have reviewed Ms. Park over a half dozen times (all reviews archived) and fell all over ourselves the first time we heard her in 2013. But she just keeps getting better and better, even when there seems to be no room for improvement. Her instrument is bright but never shrill; her technique is flawless; but it is something else that draws the listener in, as if the fragrance of a rose slipped around your heart.  To hear her is to love her. Her voice is like a bell that summons one away from whatever dark place you may have been stuck in.

Perhaps the rose analogy came out of the gorgeous rose-colored gown she wore but there is no denying that her inner beauty, revealed when she modestly addressed the audience, informs everything she sings. We don't know of another singer who can close her eyes in rapture without losing contact with the audience. 

We have been most familiar with her bel canto roles and a Mozart concert aria.  Yesterday's recital revealed a number of other aspects to her versatility. Our companion, fluent in both French and German, agreed with our high opinion of Ms. Park's linguistic skills. We can attest to her authenticity in Spanish.

The program opened with Joaquin Rodrigo's Cuatro madrigales amatorios, four memorably tuneful songs of widely divergent moods; the mournful "Con que la lavare" and the teasing "De donde venis, amore?" were our two personal favorites. These songs are heard frequently on recital programs but Ms. Park made them fresh and new.

Also in Spanish were three selections from Enrique Granados' Canciones amatorias, with which we were unfamiliar. In these, Mr. Noda's collaborative piano was outstanding. He always impresses us with his profound involvement with the singer and the two of them made marvelous music together.

Clara Schumann's songs deserve to be on more recital programs and we were happy to hear five of them, all sung with superlative German diction and a remarkable depth of feeling. Mrs. Schumann's song output was certainly overshadowed by her husband's but she was no minor talent! Just hear her setting of "Liebst du um Schonheit", the Ruckert text that was famously set by Gustav Mahler!

We have often heard the vocalise of Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas brasileiras No. 5. When Ms. Park sang it, our thought was "Angels can speak without words".  We cannot recall ever hearing the beautiful text about nightfall. Ms. Park handled the vocalise, the text, and the humming section with equal skill. We are not familiar with Portuguese but we shall assume that it was perfect.

Poulenc seemed to favor surrealistic texts to which we have trouble relating; however, Ms. Park's dramatic gifts allowed us the illusion that we understood! Now that is a strange phenomenon. She captured a sort of cabaret feeling to them without depriving them of their seriousness. We particularly enjoyed "Paganini" from Metamorphoses and the pictorial "C" from Deux poemes de Louis Aragon. The ironic "Fetes galantes" was performed at rapid-fire speed without missing a single syllable.

It is a courageous act for a Korean woman to sing Tosti songs, usually best sung by an Italian tenor breathing garlic into every phrase. We go on record here as saying that Ms. Park did them justice, even bringing something new to them. In "Aprile", she painted an aural picture of Spring along with Mr. Noda's lilting arpeggios. "L'ultima canzone" was so heartbreaking we could scarcely breathe. (We managed to make a one minute video which you can find on our Facebook page Voce di Meche.) The joyful "Marechiaro" was sung in accurate dialect.  We loved every moment.

Ms. Park closed the program with a lovely setting of the 23rd Psalm by N. Unyoung. Although religious music is not our favorite, the words are in Korean and Ms Park sang from the depths of her soul. It is clear from what place she derives spiritual sustenance, the more power to her.

As encore, she offered "O, mio babbino caro" from Giacomo Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. As the true artist she is, Ms. Park made this oft-heard aria completely her own.  She made the church her own.  She made the audience her own. This beautiful young woman is destined for stardom on the world's stages; and she deserves it!

(c) meche kroop

 

BLISSED OUT!

Lachlan Glen and Ben Bliss

It would take a far better writer than we are to fully convey the impact of yesterday's lieder recital. The word that comes to mind is gifting. Carnegie Hall's program of Neighborhood Recitals is a gift to the community and Mr. Bliss and Mr. Glen gifted the audience. Both gifts were majorly appreciated.

We could walk through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, filled with valuable paintings and stop, arrested, in front of one that captivates us completely.  Is it the subject matter?  The colors? The way one's eye is pulled across the canvas? The technique of the application of paint? Inexplicably the eyes mist over. They are not tears of sorrow and not quite tears of joy.  Perhaps they are tears of awe and appreciation for beauty and all that went on in the heart and soul of the artist who produced it.

That is how we felt at Carnegie Hall's Neighborhood Recital at St. Michael's Church, produced as part of the Marilyn Horne Legacy. We were "stirred and shaken", in awe of such talent belonging to two exemplary artists in the early stages of major careers. 

Mr. Bliss' incredible artistry has already been recognized by The Metropolitan Opera (Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail) and the LA Opera (Tamino in Die Zauberflöte). His gentle tenor caresses the ear; his impeccable phrasing makes emotional sense out of whatever he sings; his diction ensures that titles are superfluous.

Mr. Glen has prodigious skills as a pianist with his fingers flying over the keys. On top of that his artistry as a collaborative pianist is legendary. He breathes along with the singer, always supporting and never stealing the show, although he easily could. He is already a successful recording artist.

Together, they were even greater than the sum of their parts and held us in their spell by means of their partnership. Whether the result was achieved by a great deal of practice or by instinctual connection we know not.  But we certainly felt it.

In everything they performed, we sensed a deeply felt connection with the material, which was effectively transmitted to the audience. The program opened with Ottorino Respighi's "Pioggia" in which Mr. Glen's piano produced the raindrops and Mr. Bliss' voice had us inhaling the scent of nature refreshed. Similarly, Respighi's "Nebbie" filled us with the coldness and loneliness of a barren landscape with Mr. Glen's decisive piano making significant contributions.

Three songs by Vincenzo Bellini delighted us: "Malinconia, ninfo gentile",  "Vanne, o rosa fortunata", and "Ma rendi pur contento". All were performed with full attention paid to Bellini's long melodic lines.

Of the four Benjamin Britten songs, we are happy to report that every word was understood, due to superlative English diction. We wish that were always the case but it is not to be taken for granted. We loved the charming "Sally in our Alley".

Two sonnets were performed: Britten's "Spirito ben nato" from Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo (noted for some lovely a capella phrases) and Franz Liszt's "Pace non trovo" from Tre sonetti di Petrarca. Having heard this a dozen times this year at various master classes, we thought we were tired of it.  But yesterday we seemed to be hearing it for the first time. The artists brought it to a thrilling dramatic climax.

Opera was not neglected. "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore was absolutely stunning.  Never mind that we just heard it the night before! It was sung with depth and simplicity; the messa di voce at the end was exquisite.

A group of French songs by Henri Duparc and Ernest Chausson were beautifully performed with lovely long Gallic lines and not a whiff of effeteness.  Perhaps our favorite was Reynaldo Hahn's "L'heure exquise" with its delicate piano part and the vocal skips upward.

A prior reviewing commitment forced us to leave before the final set of songs. We hated missing any part of this recital. This is one recital that will remain in our memory.

(c) meche kroop